welcome to the slums

I found inspiration to start this blog from the "Distant Relatives" album by Damian Marley and Nas. The main purpose of the blog is to bring certain social issues to light, especially to young people, by using social media. We are the future, and we should be informed. NONE of these photos belong to me, unless otherwise stated.

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On This Day in 2009: When Palestinian children returned to school for the first day of classes since Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza ended, not all pupils showed up. Some students had to be excused for not attending after being killed by the Israeli army during its three-week bombing campaign of the besieged strip.

Over 300 Palestinian children were killed in ‘Operation Cast Lead’ — between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009 — which took the lives of over 1,400 Palestinians in total.

Signs replaced the once-occupied seats at al-Fakhura School in the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza; names of victims written under the word in red: ‘Martyr’, 24 January, 2009.

(Photo: Anja Niedringhaus / AP)

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Walking in to class to find out your best friend you sit next to won’t be joining you because Israel blew him up.

Where is the justice.

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Sorry I haven't been updating guys. The past couple days have been kind of hectic. I'll be back soon, though!

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Slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Children playing on Phnom Penh garbage dump.

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African child soldier.

Photography by Stuart Price/AFP/Getty Images

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The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has kidnapped over 30,000 children from Uganda. Both boys and girls are sent to engage in combat. Some girls are forced into becoming LRA wives, where they are raped, beaten and even killed. These children are also forced to spy, steal and kidnap other children.

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Here are 3 important websites we should not forget about:

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followthepull:

http://www.lracrisistracker.com/

http://invisiblechildren.com/

http://www.savedarfur.org/

Give them a look, raise awareness.

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A Somali soldier shows children how to use a rifle in Mogadishu. 

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Up to half of the world's child soldiers are from Africa. Most are forced into the lifestyle, and face the consequence of death if they do not comply.

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African children.

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Approximately 1 billion of the earth's population reside in slums.

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Phnom Penh Slums - Cambodia

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Phnom Penh Slums - Cambodia

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This building in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (known as "The Building" to it's residents) is home to pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers. 

Photography by Tim Matsui

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Women gamble in the streets of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. In the center sits a mother who is prostituting her daughter for money. 

Photography by Tim Matsui

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Children working in the Phnom Penh dump in Cambodia. They make money by selling recyclables. 

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In 2009 Afghanistan passed the EVAW laws (Eliminating Violence Against Women), which criminalized 22 acts of violence towards women. However, these laws have only put a small dent in the number of reported crimes. There have been 2299 reports of violence towards women between March 2010 and March 2011. Only 594 of these cases were brought to court. Afghan women are scared that the issue will be quieted and remain unsolved now that the US is trying to lessen it's presence in the Middle East.